


How Did That Happen?

by naitomeatori



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Implied Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada, Post-Recall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 07:17:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13336194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naitomeatori/pseuds/naitomeatori
Summary: Finally seeing each other after recall, Genji notices McCree is missing his arm and insists to hear the story behind it. He decides too late that he really didn't want to know, on second thought.





	How Did That Happen?

Recall. McCree had been waiting for the day this would happen, knowing that the world would need Overwatch again someday. The message had said to meet here, in an old base that Winston had been working out of. According to the summons, Winston needed to speak to everyone ASAP. McCree wondered how many of them would actually show up though. What if they had gotten busy doing other stuff and couldn’t deal with this anymore?

“Jesse!” McCree was trapped in a hug as soon as he rounded the corner into the meeting room, and looked down into a mess of blonde hair. Mercy: check. He returned her hug, patting her gently when it seemed she wouldn’t let go. He looked around the room, making eye contact with Genji, Reinhardt, and Tracer. He couldn’t help but feel at home once again.

“Hey guys, y’all weren’t waitin’ on me ta get started, were ya?”

“Hell no. Apparently Torbjorn is coming back, but he was a little stuck at the moment. And then we get to meet a new, er, old member of Overwatch, that I don’t think any of us have met yet. Her name is Mei, and she’s making her way back from Watchpoint Antarctica.” Mercy finally released him as she spoke, pushing herself an arms-length away to get a good look at him. “You look well. Digging the updated beard.”

“Thanks, I thought it looked pretty nice.” McCree reached up to stroke his beard with his left hand, his right hand rested on his hip.

“Oh my god Jess, what the hell happened to your arm?” Genji spoke up, his mouth slightly agape and a limp finger pointed toward his friend’s arm. “That’s new.”

“What?” McCree instinctually looked to his right arm, turning it over to make sure he wasn’t bleeding somewhere.

“Oh god, you’re right. This one, Jesse.” Mercy grabbed his left arm and pulled it up to get a better look, clicking her nails against the metal skull on the front. “How the hell did this happen? You were fine the last time I saw you!”

“Oh, that? It’s nothin’.” McCree took his arm back, and slid past Mercy to find a seat in the room.

“No really, how’d you lose it? Come on, you know how I lost my body.” Genji leaned forward, propping his chin in his hands with his elbows on his knees. “You’re practically obligated to tell me anyway, since I’m your best friend. “

“Actually you’re my second best friend, ‘cause Mercy is the first. Nice try though.”

“I want to know too. And I want to know why you didn’t come to me to get it fixed, since obviously you went somewhere else. There something you’re trying to hide, Clint?”

“I ain’t hidin’ nothin’. Just said it’s nothin’, no big deal, no sense in gettin’ into it.” McCree picked up a banana from the fruit bowl Winston must have set out for them, but replaced it and got an orange instead. Better leave the bananas for the gorilla.

“If it’s nothing, you shouldn’t mind telling us. Come on, what happened?” Genji switched his voice to a half-whine there at the end, to really drive it home.

“If ya really have ta know, I got in a fight with a mean ol’ alligator. That’s all it is.”

“I literally do not believe that for one second. That isn’t worth hiding from us at all!” Mercy slid into the seat next to him, propping her chin in her hands to mimic Genji. “Come on, what happened?”

“Ya really want ta know? Alright, it’s been awhile ago, but I accidentally walked in on Morrison and Reyes gettin’ it on. Was lucky they only got my arm, the way they was aimin’.”

“That is a complete lie, Jesse McCree.”

The entire room looked up at hearing a voice they had nearly forgotten, and saw what had to be a ghost standing in the doorway. Jack Morrison, former commander, was here, seemingly alive.

“I’m only here to deliver a message to Winston, but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. I was not and never have been involved with that man, that... Monster.”

As everyone else in the room stared at the old commander as he turned to leave, McCree buried his face in his hands from embarrassment. Not only did he get caught lying, but he was caught by one of the men he was lying about, which made it infinitely worse. Not like that lie would have been very believable anyway, since they were both rumored to be dead, but still.

“So... Are you done telling us lies?” Reinhardt spoke up then, having been silent the rest of the conversation. He had decided it wasn’t any of his business at first, but after all these lies he thought the real story might be entertaining. He had leaned forward on his hands like the other two had done before him, and adopted a smug grin.

“Yeah, we wanna know the real story!” While she had been silent, Tracer had still been paying attention, and was already invested in the true story that had yet to be spoken of. Instead of leaning on her hands like the other three though, she jumped up and put a hand in the air.

“I just...” McCree refused to remove his face from his hands, knowing the attention was back on him again. “It’s really stupid, and all. I don’t really wanna talk about it.”

“Oh, now we _have_ to know the real story. Come on, we promise not to laugh at you.”

“I’m not promising anything, speak for yourself.” Genji laughed a little to himself, preparing for what was hopefully going to be the best story McCree had ever told him. “Well, go on. Start talking.”

“Fine, whatever. It all started when Genji brought me to Japan to help him find his brother. Genji really wanted to find his brother, and asked me to come along for ‘protection,’ like he even needed that. Well he found him pretty quick, and had me stay outside to watch the gate. Anyway, when I was sure no one was gonna come in, I kinda snuck in to see what was going down.

“Genji had done a real good job of riling him up, really pissed him off. So they got into this fight and all. And then Genji just turned and left, so I went back to the gate because I thought he was coming back for me. Well, he didn’t. Jackass just left me there.” McCree gave Genji a sour look with that, and Genji shook his head with a chuckle. “I stayed there for a few minutes, I guess, until I was real sure he wasn’t coming back. So I walked a little ways down the street, found a bar, and sat down in it.

“That’s when the good part starts happening, cause not long after I got situated, his brother walks in. Throws himself down at the bar next to me, and orders something I can’t remember the name of. Sits there and just drinks like a fish, and you know I can’t hold my liquor, so I’m just watching him. Like, ‘damn, I didn’t know Genji’s brother was such an alcoholic.’”

“Yeah, I don’t think he used to be that bad. Must’ve been ‘cause I gave him a hard time too, right?” Genji laughed at that.

“Sure, anyway, he starts getting chatty with the bartender, just really talking his ear off. I ain’t got a clue what he’s saying, cause it’s all Japanese, but I’m still listening. Then he points over to me, and says something to the bartender, and I’m like, shit, how did he know I was there? The bartender laughs at whatever he said, and brings me a drink. Then he leans down and says to me, “He said he was so drunk you started to look familiar, so he bought you a drink.” I’m like, oh hell, why do I look familiar? But then I remember maybe he saw me years back when I cased the place for Reyes, But I’m like, whatever. There’s no way. I only talked to like one guy back then, and I knew it wasn’t him.”

“You talked to someone over there after we told you not to? Jesse McCree.” Mercy gave him a disappointed look.

“Oh, sue me. He was cute and bored so I gave him what he wanted. That don’t matter now. Let me talk. Well anyway, there was no way he could’ve known me, so I was confused but wasn’t going to turn down a free drink. Well He hadn’t been there long before he was ready to leave, but then he turned to me and told me to come with him. I didn’t have a death wish, so I did.”

“Is that where you left your arm? In the bar?”

“Shut up Shimada, I ain’t there yet. Well he took me back to where he was at when me and Genji came to find him, and started talking my ear off too, but he was talking to me in English so that helped. I don’t even remember what all he said, but he sure was drunk. Talking nonsense about missing me, and how much his brother disappointed him but now he’s more disappointed in himself, but mainly he’s glad I’m back, even though I apparently should’ve come to see him, because I didn’t tell him I’d be at the bar, and honestly at this point I’m lost, but hey, it’s not hurting anything to play along.”

“I don’t like this story, when do you stupidly lose your arm?” Genji could tell the direction this story was going in, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. Especially since he felt like he knew something about what his brother was talking about, and only now was he making a connection. Yeah, maybe he didn’t want to know about this story.

“I lose my arm later. This is just the exposition to the story. The rising action. That means the climax is next. I’m getting there.”

“You take too long. Just say “yeah I was doing this shit and then BAM no more arm.””

“I like it this way. I didn’t know you two went to Japan! See, if he had just started out in the middle, I would’ve had so many questions.” Mercy gave Genji a smirk, causing him to sink back into his chair in defeat. “Go on, Jesse.”

“Right, well, I’m not going to go into detail but this guy is _super_ affectionate when he’s drunk. So, I’ll let you fill in the blanks on that one. Anyway, I stay the night there with him, and I wake up later than I usually do because there weren’t any windows in that room. He was already up, so I went to find him. He’s sitting in the kitchen, so I join him. He’s sober now, but he still acts like he knows me. I’m just thinking this is super weird. I’d never met the guy! So I ask him about it, trying to word it so I’m not insensitive, so maybe he won’t murder me for it. He gives me this funny look, and laughs at me. He points to my forearm, and says “I recognized your tattoo. You look a little different but you’re still the same.” So then I’m like, ok, fuck, how the hell does he know me. What the hell happened?”

“Oh god, _you slept with the heir to the Shimada clan on that mission, didn’t you Jesse McCree._ ” Mercy restrained herself from grabbing him and giving him a firm slap, instead just balling her fists in her skirt and kneading like it was a stress ball.

“I changed my mind, I don’t want to hear this story.” Genji had seen this coming, but he had hoped he was imagining things. A confirmation was not what he wanted.

“No, no, keep going. I’m not mad! It’s over now right? No harm, no foul, no... nothing!” Mercy forced a smile, and gestured to McCree to carry on.

“Yeah, I guess I did. And then did it again that night. Whoops!” McCree laughed at himself then, not half as tense as he was before he started the story. “Anyway, that doesn’t matter. I had pretty much forgotten about that tattoo, and looking at it again I just felt like it was out of place. Sure it was part of my history, but it’s also a gang brand. I told him that I wished I could take it off, but that no one would take off a gang brand legally. Told him I had thought maybe cutting my arm off would fix the whole issue, and he replied that he could totally just cut off my arm. I laughed and told him to go ahead, because that was a joke, right? We were joking? Well, he wasn’t. He got out this short katana sword and just cut it off before I could tell him I was joking. So that’s how I lost it. And then I’m bleeding, and I’m like, I’m going to die like this, I know it, but he wraps it up and takes me to this guy he knows, and this guy doesn’t charge me a dime and gives me this cool robot arm. He puts this cool skull on it because it was better than having all the wires and shit showing, and I like this pretty well. I can’t feel with it, no nerves or anything, but it’s real strong. And once you get used to it it’s just like having a real arm, except it’s made of metal and all. And so I spent some more time with him, and then Winston called me, so I left. So I’ve been in Japan since then, having this cool new arm, hanging out with Genji’s brother because he thinks I’m hot.”

Genji sat with his face in his hands, sunk back in his chair at all of this new information. Mercy was still slightly forcing a smile, and Reinhardt and Tracer were leaned forward, staring dumbfounded at this man’s story.

“So you mean to tell me, you slept with Genji’s brother and he cut your arm off because you jokingly asked him to?” Tracer managed to speak first, still not sure if what she heard was true or not.

“Yeah, that’s how it went. Y’all satisfied now?”

Everyone nodded their heads best they could, with some of them wondering if they should’ve just accepted the fake story about the alligator instead. Either way, it was a still a dumb way to lose your arm. And that, they were sure, would be good enough to make fun of him for later, after they had sufficiently coped with this. McCree relaxed back on the couch, taking time to start eating that orange he had been holding. That shut them up better than he thought it would.

**Author's Note:**

> Based off a combination of mine and my brother's headcanons. Thanks for reading!


End file.
